Friday, March 21, 2014

Around the World with Quantum Leap: Stellenbosch, South Africa



“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey

As a négociant-style winery, our roots range from the states of Washington and California to the countries of Italy and South Africa. In this post, we’ll take you to the source of our merlot and cabernet sauvignon: the bright and warm city of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Let’s start with a little background on South African wines in general.  In terms of size, South Africa is the 7th largest wine producer in the world. The most planted grape variety is chenin blanc, followed by cabernet sauvignon, colombard, syrah, and sauvignon blanc.  Although wine is a 300-year-old industry in South Africa, it was largely ignored in the 20th century due to sanctions against apartheid.  Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the industry has had a rebirth and South African wines are widely considered to be some of the best in the world.   

Stellenbosch, South Africa is located about 50 km east of Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.  After Cape Town, it is the second Dutch settlement and it is the second oldest wine producing area in South Africa. Stellenbosch is a sub-region of the larger wine-growing area called the Costal Region.  As of 2012, Stellenbosch has 16.5% of South Africa’s wine grape vineyards and produces 8.3% of the wine in South Africa.

So, why is this area such a great place to grow wine?  Stellenbosch has the benefit of having a Mediterranean climate and a granite, sandstone, and shale soil combination that is a perfect for growing red wine vines. Even though Stellenbosch is 20 km from the ocean, the sea breeze does provide cool air in the summer and moderates the temperature of the area allowing the grapes to ripen at ideal rate.

If you can’t make a trip to picturesque Stellenbosch yourself, Quantum Leap is proud to bring a little of South Africa to Orlando and we invite you to try both our merlot and cabernet sauvignon.  Each are fabulous examples of the stellar wine that is coming from South Africa.